Whimsy + A Cappella Week

This is the 13th International A-Cappella-Week Hannover, with concerts every night and workshops for choirs. Yesterday there was a free outdoor concert on the plaza by the Marketchurch with 4 groups. Wonderful music from Justin Bieber to spirituals to jazz to madrigals. Cadence (from Montreal) really got the normally staid German crowd moving. In church they never clap or sway, but Cadence got them all clapping and snapping their fingers. They sang "Straighten Up & Fly Right" (Nat King Cole) and "Hit the Jive Jack." They imitated all the  band instruments and sang great scat. So fun! Here's a link to their website: Cadence
You can click on the record player picture in the lower left corner to hear a sample. It'll get you snapping your fingers.

One of the other groups, Delta Q (from Berlin), sang a fun medley called "Countdown" with snippets of songs with numbers in them counting down to one, from "99 Luftballons" to  "Route 66" to "Love Potion Number 9."

There was a perfectly-in-tune jazz-and-pop choir from the local music academy, Vibrant Voices, and a local high school quartet wait4it that won an a cappella contest to get a spot on the program. Their parents and classmates were there to cheer them on. One of the proud fathers stood next to me constantly taking pictures, beaming and singing along. Rich invited a family from the physical chemistry department to the concert and then for dinner afterwards. I felt a little bit guilty, since it was cold and lots of standing around trying to peer over tall grown-ups for the elementary school children, but they enjoyed it anyway. The wife used to sing in choirs herself before kids and looked like she was enjoying herself.

We've got tickets for one more a cappella concert this week and I'm hoping I might cadge a ticket to one tonight that's sold out. I always come away singing.

The Germans can be pretty serious. I went on a tour of the Niedersachsen Parliament (right next door) Monday morning and our tour guide (a press secretary) never cracked a smile, earnestly explaining how the government works from her script. I liked the doors: if the vote is unclear, the members are counted as they walk through doors labeled, yes, abstain, and no. Apparently, it hasn't been needed since sometime in the 90s.

Lower Saxony Parliament Doors: Yes, Abstain, No

 

In the CDU party room, the more conservative party, there is a  constantly-changing neon sign with the actual amount of debt that Niedersachsen owes. Yes, that's billions of euros. They use periods instead of commas. Of course, it's not in the SPD party committee room.

CDU Party Room Real-time Debt Counter

 

Germans are not always serious and, in fact, enjoy a bit of whimsy. Here's one of many whimsical streetcar stops, this one with yellow and black checks and cones on the roof.

Streetcar Station

 

And there's a local eatery with brightly-painted chairs hanging off the outside walls.

Off-the-wall Chairs

 

One of the symbols of the city is the three Nanas, some comical pop statues by the river right behind our apartment. When they were first put up in the 70s, half the city hated them and half liked them, but now the controversy is forgotten. They are the first of many modern sculptures along the sculpture mile we ride by on the way to the university. It's not all baroque and medieval art here. Hannover is a happening place for contemporary art.

3 Nanas by the Leine River

 

The Germans are determinedly enjoying spring, now that's it's finally here, even though there have been several cloudy days in the 40s that don't feel so spring-like. I sent out a picture by email of snow-covered patio chairs on the Ballhof, a plaza a block away. Now they've got beach chairs lined up outside. The chalkboard says: Finally Summer! Ice Cream, Iced Chocolate, Homemade Iced Tea

Beach Chairs on the Ballhof